SIDEBAR

There are a number of agencies available to help pregnant women and new moms.

Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit

HKPR offers a variety of programs, services, support and resources to encourage healthy growth for mothers and their babies and children. Some programs include sexual health, nutritional education, prenatal health and breastfeeding.

Toll-free: 1-866-888-HKPR (4577)

Brighton office

Box 127, 35 Alice Street

Brighton

Tel: 613-475-0933

Port Hope office

200 Rose Glen Rd.

Port Hope

Tel: 905-885-9100

Northumberland Services for Women

The shelter offers temporary accommodations for women and their children who are seeking shelter. Counsellors assist women to build connections with a variety of community services and resources. Shelter services are available 24 hours a day.

40 Swayne St. E

Cobourg

Toll-free: 1-800-263-3757

Tel: 905-372-6381

Crisis Line: 905-372-0746

Beginnings Family Services

Beginnings is a non-profit, faith-based agency providing pregnancy counselling and adoption services to clients of all ethnic backgrounds, religious affiliations and walks of life. Services include free pregnancy testing and counselling, parenting and family support programs, and care cupboard access.

50 King Street West

Cobourg

Tel: 905-373-4575

Northumberland Child Development Centre

NCDC provides support for children with special needs and their families as well as support for families throughout pregnancy and the preschool years. A variety of family, parenting and pregnancy support programs and workshops are available for free.

3rd Floor, 38 Walton Street

Port Hope

Tel: 905-885-8137

Children's Aid Society of Northumberland

CAS is a private, non-profit charitable organization working in local communities within the County of Northumberland to provide help and support to children and their families. Programs such as the WrapAround program provide a community support team for families and children with a high level of significant difficulties.

COBOURG -- Teen mom Tamara Smith, 18, hadn't been to school for awhile when she got pregnant.

"I am not really a fast learner," she said.

For Tamara, school was a struggle, as it was for her classmates in the Cobourg District Collegiate Institute East Teen Education and Mothering program, Krystal Duguay, 18, and Emile Martin, 18.

Across Northumberland County, the rate of teen mothers is above the provincial average of 3.7 per cent in every recorded municipality with the highest in the area of Trent Hills with a rate of 9.7 per cent. The findings were derived from Ontario's Better Outcomes Registry and Network data, through a ground breaking Metroland Media Group investigation of 535,000 Ontario birth records which has revealed that rates of teen moms are highest where incomes and educational achievements are low and poverty is high.

I can't wait for mommy to do it because I am mommy

Brighton resident Emile went to East Northumberland Secondary School but dropped out to go to Alberta to be with her boyfriend.

"I didn't really care for school at the time. I felt like I had better things to do," said Emile.

She is now back in Brighton and living on her own, but Emile's mother, Kelly Martin, said her daughter was heading down the wrong path.

"She was a little bit of a wild girl," Ms. Martin said.

Emile didn't plan to get pregnant. She and her boyfriend usually used protection but the one time she didn't, Emile got pregnant, she said. Her baby Aislynn, now eight months old, has made Emile settle down a bit, Ms. Martin said.

"There has been a huge change in Emile, for the better," she said.

Aislynn smiles easily and crawls everywhere in a room filled with toys, easy chairs and cribs for the babies at the school. Next door, moms study and work on completing credits. They are able to pop in to feed or hold their children when needed.

Tamara also was heading down a bad road. She got in trouble with the law before moving to Cobourg from Toronto. Her baby's father is in the picture and is supportive along with his family, she said. She is now doing better in school with the support of the TEAM program and hopes to get her high school diploma.

Still, having children so young has been a struggle for the three teens.

Krystal still thinks about going out with friends and worries about providing for her daughter Gabrielle. She lives on her own so has little time for television or other relaxing activities. Krystal does the cooking and cleaning in addition to looking after her daughter.

"I can't wait for mommy to do it because I am mommy," said Krystal.

Emile also lives on her own and thinks about her single days when she could go out with her friends.

"I miss going out sometimes," she said.

But her mother and stepfather are supportive and will babysit if she wants to go out on the weekend.

All three teens have aspirations for the future. Tamara is thinking about a career in science or as a personal support worker. Emile would like to go to college and become a child and youth social worker. Krystal is hoping to get an apprenticeship in a hair salon.

BORN is a series by the Northumberland News and The Independing looking at the issues of teen mom rates and prenatal health care in Ontario.

Karen Longwell is a photographer/reporter for the Northumberland News.